Canegrad89
Recruit
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2017
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- 1,149
A painful & embarassing loss to mighty Duke Football. Snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory on this one.
Started slow again (in terms of scoring) under TVD. We were down again & only had 7 points when he got injured midway through Q2. Hope TVD's injury isn't too serious.
Jake came in & initially created a spark. After a bomb to Colbie (70+ yards) & a 34-yarder to Mallory, Canes up 21-17. We had all the momentum in our favor...and then, fumble by Rooster. Short field for Duke. TD. Canes trailing again. Many will point to all the TOs as the reason we lost (and they were certainly the primary factor). Less of a headline but another big reason we lost the game was the time-consuming 80 yd drive Duke had in the 3rd qtr. The TOs can be fixed (at least dramatically reduced). The fact that our LBs simply weren't really a presence on the field & put up virtually zero resistance to Duke on a drive that took about 9+ mins off the clock (left us with about 3 mins in the qtr), was a huge problem. It put us in a position where our D was tired & our offense started forcing things (which is when the wheels started coming off).
Fun fact: Jalen Rivers & Jaylon Knighton had almost as many tackles in this game (2) as a combo of: Keontra, Gil, Wes, Caleb, & Flagg (4 tackles total). At times, our D looks once again like a unit comprised solely of a DL & DBs (same as last yr). THERE NEEDS TO BE RESISTANCE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FIELD. IT IS TOTALLY NOT WORKING WITH THE GUYS WE'RE STARTING AT LB. Once opponents get past the DL, the next resistance they face is typically from the DBs. DBs are being forced to make way too many tackles. Duke's QB is a decent athlete but he shouldn't be able to run free all game on QB draws (often untouched). We need guys to play at LB that can shed blocks, close open lanes way faster, & make tackles. We need a major infusion of athleticism & speed. Jordan Travis & Trey Benson (6.9 ypc) at FSU are gonna shred us, if we trot out the same starting trio at LB. Benson is a powerful RB who runs hard & will roll us. It cannot get worse at LB. Caleb Johnson flashed a little with a nice sack, a tackle & three TA. Try him in the middle & our two most athletic guys on the outside. Keep it simple for them. We need some speed at LB. We badly need to put resistance up in the middle of the field. That time-consuming drive by Duke in the third quarter was a major reason we lost this game.
The Good:
Colbie Young: Star in the making. Another 127 yards with a monster 70+ yarder mixed in. Throw him the ball...a lot. Duke didn't have answers for him. Should have kept feeding him.
Henry Parrish: 5.7 ypc. Runs hard. Fighter. Shame the OL is so depleted.
Mallory: Had the 34 yrd TD to put us ahead. Avg over 22 ypc. Way underutilized at 2 receptions.
Penalties: 3-30 yds. Thankfully, a huge improvement. Can you imagine how ugly this would have been had it been 15-150?
Forced Fumble by Ivey & Williams: Came early in the game. Heady play & good hustle to recover the fumble.
PBU by Blades: Nice PBU on 3rd down from Al Blades.
Darrell Jackson: Had a nice sack & continues to be a solid presence inside.
Hedley: Solid 46 yds per punt avg.
The Bad:
Not Using the TE Enough: Mallory, Skinner & Brantley only 4 receptions in aggregate. Outside of Colbie Young, they are your best weapons. Gotta use them more.
Missed INT: Was tough to see exactly how catchable it was but Avantae seemed pretty upset at himself that he didn't make the play in the 2nd qtr.
The Ugly:
Eight (8) Turnovers: 5 fumbles & 3 INTs. Jake had a few poor throws for sure, but he also had terrible protection by the OL & came in again trailing on the scoreboard. The early fumbles by Rooster & Key Smith were the biggest killers. They both gave Duke a super short field & hope. Rooster is unfortunately now known for fumbling. He's going to be tested going forward by every opponent. He's got to put both hands on the ball at all times (even if it means a slight loss in ypc). Key Smith was surrounded by a few defenders & wasn't going to get much extra yardage. Better to wrap up & go down there. Jake will fare much better if he starts the game & isn't already trailing on the scoreboard. He also needs to dump the ball off if the OL is breaking down (which it was big time at the end). He needs better protection. Any QB will see their performance dip if they're getting pounded on every play & have no time to throw. He did however have at least a couple of bad throws (one appeared to sail big time on him & the other one was probably severely underthrown to Ladson). At the end, he was forced to try & make things happen in an attempt to win the game. Let's support Jake as Jacurri isn't ready to be the starter & his passing game needs 1-2 yrs to develop. I'm confident Jake will fare much better if he starts & doesn't always have to play catch-up (and force things as a result). With the current state of the OL, they need to get the ball out fast & he's going to have to dump the ball off or throw it away more often. I'm optimistic that Jake will get off to faster starts & will improve as he gets more PT.
3rd & Short and 4th & Short: Nothing has been more frustrating in recent times than watching us fail...repeatedly...in these "must win" short yardage situations. We couldn't even gain a yard against Duke when we really needed it. Yes, the OL is depleted but still this is depressing. Even worse, we continue to insist on trying to muscle the ball ahead when it almost never works. Got to fix this. I think this year (with the current state of the OL), we need to come up with some more creative high probability pass plays & runs that aren't between the tackles. The current approach just isn't working & it is not fixable by trying to improve at it (this year without the right horses).
LB Play & Tackling: 200 yards rushing for Duke. TWO HUNDRED!! See above re personnel changes needed at LB position. We also need to learn to tackle. Not sure what is being taught on the tackling front but it isn't working. I'd have the entire Defense watching film of former Miami greats tackling. I'd point out the gang tackling where our great teams had at least a few hats around the ball. I'd teach them rugby style tackling (same thing Pete Carroll at Seattle advocates). We need to learn to wrap up. This is killing us.
OL Play: Gave up six (6) sacks & 7 TFL. Yes, the line is depleted but still this was a very poor performance. Got to give Jake more time to throw.
3rd & 4th Down Efficiency: 4-12 and 1-3. Woof. Duke was 2-2 on 4th down and 7-16 on 3rd down. Their ability to run at will (especially the QB) was a big factor in this.
Coaching:
Offense: Until you have a couple of yrs of your own recruits in place & they've matured physically, the Offense should be last year's passing game with 5-10 run plays with better blocking schemes. Not that hard. Offense needs some rhythm. It needs to be simple. Most reliable WRs & TEs need to be featured. TEs need to be used more. Throw to RBs more. Can't waste downs on drops & miscommunications. Jake will improve significantly if he simply distributes the ball to his playmakers in space...fast...with some deep balls mixed in. He should watch a lot of Josh Allen at Buffalo. He makes the game look easy at times because he takes what the defense gives him & simply distributes the ball around. It's not that fancy. He surveys the field efficiently & gets it to the open man.
Defense: Other than Mesidor, LT & Jackson, not enough pressure is being generated on the opposing QB. I think we need to have players like Cyrus Moss (who is still fairly skinny but can get to the QB) & Kelly in there more on 3rd down/obvious passing downs. Our lack of production from the DE position is really hurting us. The Duke QB had way too much time today. He looked far too composed. Gotta be able to rattle the cage of the opposing QB. The DL is one of the strengths of the team currently but it's mostly from a standpoint of stopping the run (excluding today's 200 yrd disaster). Also, need to change up the lineup at LB because what we're doing now is not working (in terms of personnel decisions). LB play cannot get worse than it is currently. Let's get our most athletic guys in there & set them free. We should have had a spy on the Duke QB. He absolutely killed us with his legs. We should have known that & accounted for it.
Overall: Mario & his staff are highly compensated by the University of Miami. He needs to produce a much better product than this (even with the current crop of players). He will succeed in the years ahead if he continues to recruit at a high level. He'll win due to an abundance of talent. In the interim, it's really important that we put a better product on the field (more fundamentally sound & less error-prone). Ball security & tackling should be major focal points this week (in addition to personnel decisions).
Your thoughts?
Started slow again (in terms of scoring) under TVD. We were down again & only had 7 points when he got injured midway through Q2. Hope TVD's injury isn't too serious.
Jake came in & initially created a spark. After a bomb to Colbie (70+ yards) & a 34-yarder to Mallory, Canes up 21-17. We had all the momentum in our favor...and then, fumble by Rooster. Short field for Duke. TD. Canes trailing again. Many will point to all the TOs as the reason we lost (and they were certainly the primary factor). Less of a headline but another big reason we lost the game was the time-consuming 80 yd drive Duke had in the 3rd qtr. The TOs can be fixed (at least dramatically reduced). The fact that our LBs simply weren't really a presence on the field & put up virtually zero resistance to Duke on a drive that took about 9+ mins off the clock (left us with about 3 mins in the qtr), was a huge problem. It put us in a position where our D was tired & our offense started forcing things (which is when the wheels started coming off).
Fun fact: Jalen Rivers & Jaylon Knighton had almost as many tackles in this game (2) as a combo of: Keontra, Gil, Wes, Caleb, & Flagg (4 tackles total). At times, our D looks once again like a unit comprised solely of a DL & DBs (same as last yr). THERE NEEDS TO BE RESISTANCE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FIELD. IT IS TOTALLY NOT WORKING WITH THE GUYS WE'RE STARTING AT LB. Once opponents get past the DL, the next resistance they face is typically from the DBs. DBs are being forced to make way too many tackles. Duke's QB is a decent athlete but he shouldn't be able to run free all game on QB draws (often untouched). We need guys to play at LB that can shed blocks, close open lanes way faster, & make tackles. We need a major infusion of athleticism & speed. Jordan Travis & Trey Benson (6.9 ypc) at FSU are gonna shred us, if we trot out the same starting trio at LB. Benson is a powerful RB who runs hard & will roll us. It cannot get worse at LB. Caleb Johnson flashed a little with a nice sack, a tackle & three TA. Try him in the middle & our two most athletic guys on the outside. Keep it simple for them. We need some speed at LB. We badly need to put resistance up in the middle of the field. That time-consuming drive by Duke in the third quarter was a major reason we lost this game.
The Good:
Colbie Young: Star in the making. Another 127 yards with a monster 70+ yarder mixed in. Throw him the ball...a lot. Duke didn't have answers for him. Should have kept feeding him.
Henry Parrish: 5.7 ypc. Runs hard. Fighter. Shame the OL is so depleted.
Mallory: Had the 34 yrd TD to put us ahead. Avg over 22 ypc. Way underutilized at 2 receptions.
Penalties: 3-30 yds. Thankfully, a huge improvement. Can you imagine how ugly this would have been had it been 15-150?
Forced Fumble by Ivey & Williams: Came early in the game. Heady play & good hustle to recover the fumble.
PBU by Blades: Nice PBU on 3rd down from Al Blades.
Darrell Jackson: Had a nice sack & continues to be a solid presence inside.
Hedley: Solid 46 yds per punt avg.
The Bad:
Not Using the TE Enough: Mallory, Skinner & Brantley only 4 receptions in aggregate. Outside of Colbie Young, they are your best weapons. Gotta use them more.
Missed INT: Was tough to see exactly how catchable it was but Avantae seemed pretty upset at himself that he didn't make the play in the 2nd qtr.
The Ugly:
Eight (8) Turnovers: 5 fumbles & 3 INTs. Jake had a few poor throws for sure, but he also had terrible protection by the OL & came in again trailing on the scoreboard. The early fumbles by Rooster & Key Smith were the biggest killers. They both gave Duke a super short field & hope. Rooster is unfortunately now known for fumbling. He's going to be tested going forward by every opponent. He's got to put both hands on the ball at all times (even if it means a slight loss in ypc). Key Smith was surrounded by a few defenders & wasn't going to get much extra yardage. Better to wrap up & go down there. Jake will fare much better if he starts the game & isn't already trailing on the scoreboard. He also needs to dump the ball off if the OL is breaking down (which it was big time at the end). He needs better protection. Any QB will see their performance dip if they're getting pounded on every play & have no time to throw. He did however have at least a couple of bad throws (one appeared to sail big time on him & the other one was probably severely underthrown to Ladson). At the end, he was forced to try & make things happen in an attempt to win the game. Let's support Jake as Jacurri isn't ready to be the starter & his passing game needs 1-2 yrs to develop. I'm confident Jake will fare much better if he starts & doesn't always have to play catch-up (and force things as a result). With the current state of the OL, they need to get the ball out fast & he's going to have to dump the ball off or throw it away more often. I'm optimistic that Jake will get off to faster starts & will improve as he gets more PT.
3rd & Short and 4th & Short: Nothing has been more frustrating in recent times than watching us fail...repeatedly...in these "must win" short yardage situations. We couldn't even gain a yard against Duke when we really needed it. Yes, the OL is depleted but still this is depressing. Even worse, we continue to insist on trying to muscle the ball ahead when it almost never works. Got to fix this. I think this year (with the current state of the OL), we need to come up with some more creative high probability pass plays & runs that aren't between the tackles. The current approach just isn't working & it is not fixable by trying to improve at it (this year without the right horses).
LB Play & Tackling: 200 yards rushing for Duke. TWO HUNDRED!! See above re personnel changes needed at LB position. We also need to learn to tackle. Not sure what is being taught on the tackling front but it isn't working. I'd have the entire Defense watching film of former Miami greats tackling. I'd point out the gang tackling where our great teams had at least a few hats around the ball. I'd teach them rugby style tackling (same thing Pete Carroll at Seattle advocates). We need to learn to wrap up. This is killing us.
OL Play: Gave up six (6) sacks & 7 TFL. Yes, the line is depleted but still this was a very poor performance. Got to give Jake more time to throw.
3rd & 4th Down Efficiency: 4-12 and 1-3. Woof. Duke was 2-2 on 4th down and 7-16 on 3rd down. Their ability to run at will (especially the QB) was a big factor in this.
Coaching:
Offense: Until you have a couple of yrs of your own recruits in place & they've matured physically, the Offense should be last year's passing game with 5-10 run plays with better blocking schemes. Not that hard. Offense needs some rhythm. It needs to be simple. Most reliable WRs & TEs need to be featured. TEs need to be used more. Throw to RBs more. Can't waste downs on drops & miscommunications. Jake will improve significantly if he simply distributes the ball to his playmakers in space...fast...with some deep balls mixed in. He should watch a lot of Josh Allen at Buffalo. He makes the game look easy at times because he takes what the defense gives him & simply distributes the ball around. It's not that fancy. He surveys the field efficiently & gets it to the open man.
Defense: Other than Mesidor, LT & Jackson, not enough pressure is being generated on the opposing QB. I think we need to have players like Cyrus Moss (who is still fairly skinny but can get to the QB) & Kelly in there more on 3rd down/obvious passing downs. Our lack of production from the DE position is really hurting us. The Duke QB had way too much time today. He looked far too composed. Gotta be able to rattle the cage of the opposing QB. The DL is one of the strengths of the team currently but it's mostly from a standpoint of stopping the run (excluding today's 200 yrd disaster). Also, need to change up the lineup at LB because what we're doing now is not working (in terms of personnel decisions). LB play cannot get worse than it is currently. Let's get our most athletic guys in there & set them free. We should have had a spy on the Duke QB. He absolutely killed us with his legs. We should have known that & accounted for it.
Overall: Mario & his staff are highly compensated by the University of Miami. He needs to produce a much better product than this (even with the current crop of players). He will succeed in the years ahead if he continues to recruit at a high level. He'll win due to an abundance of talent. In the interim, it's really important that we put a better product on the field (more fundamentally sound & less error-prone). Ball security & tackling should be major focal points this week (in addition to personnel decisions).
Your thoughts?
